Norwegian activist contacted at least 50 people in Facebook groups offering assisted suicide

A Norwegian court has charged Steinar Wangen, 55, with encouraging four Swedes to commit suicide and with a separate killing in Norway, Swedish broadcaster SVT reports.

An SVT investigation shows the self-described assisted suicide activist contacted at least 50 people across six Facebook groups dedicated to legalising euthanasia. Among them was Sarimaria Anderberg of Svalöv, whose husband has ALS.

“What if I had been unstable in some way?” she told SVT.

Prosecutor Carina Gustafsson said Wangen used the groups, which have thousands of members in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, to reach the alleged victims. She confirmed police have contacted administrators of some of the groups.

One group is moderated by former Swedish MP Staffan Danielsson, who said he had done everything possible to stop Wangen. “It’s unpleasant, whether it’s the group I moderate or others he’s probably been in,” Danielsson told SVT.

Wangen denies the charges. In an interview with NRK, he called assisted suicide “an act of mercy” but admitted he could not defend some of his suggested methods, such as suffocation with a pillow, citing poor mental health during the pandemic.

Wangen’s trial for the Swedish charges began on 3 June in Trollhättan. A separate trial for the killing in Norway started on 4 June.